Methods, systems, and apparatus to design online advertising units via a web-based application

ABSTRACT

A system for creating a new advertisement unit is disclosed. The system can include a web browser, an ad server, and an advertisement creator server. The ad server is communicatively connected to the web browser, the ad server can be configured to store and deliver a plurality of advertisement units, and an advertisement creator server communicatively connected to the web browser and can be configured to host an ad creator engine, the ad creator engine can be configured to facilitate the creation of the new advertisement unit, wherein the web browser is configured to function as a graphical interface with the advertisement creator engine.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY AND RELATED APPLICATIONS INFORMATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/887,755, entitled “METHODS,SYSTEMS, AND APPARATUS TO DESIGN ONLINE ADVERTISING UNITS VIA AWEB-BASED APPLICATION”, filed Feb. 1, 2007. This application is alsorelated to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/750,872, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DELIVERY OF MULTIPLE ONLINE ADVERTISING UNITSTO COMMUNICATE AND INTERACT ON THE SAME WEBPAGE”, filed May 18, 2007,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/933,387, entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR INTERACTIVELY DELIVERING SELF-CONTAINED ADVERTISEMENT UNITSTO A WEB BROWSER”, filed Oct. 31, 2007, and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/469,630, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTEGRATING XMLSYNDICATION FEEDS INTO ONLINE ADVERTISEMENT”, filed Sep. 1, 2006, Theentireties of the disclosures of the above-identified applications areincorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The embodiments disclosed in this application generally relate toInternet advertising and more specifically to Internet techniques anddesign tools for creating online advertisements. 2. Related Art

With the proliferation of advertising on the Internet and the resultingmarketing overload experienced by many Internet users, it is becomingincreasingly important for Internet ad units to differentiate themselvesfrom “rest of the crowd.” Rich-media ads are becoming the norm as theycan deliver content that is animated, makes sounds, interacts withusers, etc. Correspondingly, Internet marketing schemes have become moreelaborate and sophisticated, sometimes involving multiple ad units beingdelivered for simultaneous viewing by a user.

Most Internet advertising units are self-contained entities on thewebpage that they're rendered on. When multiple (2 or more) ad units arerendered on the same webpage, the units can be made to behave like theyare interacting with each other by playing pre-scripted timed animationor by hard coding the ad units such that they require web publishers toserve them together on the same webpage at the same time to ensureproper functionality. This level of programming or pre-scheduling by theweb publisher significantly limits their flexibility in creating complexadvertising schemes that utilize multiple ad units that arenon-synchronously rendered on a webpage.

Currently, there are no web based ad creators with the capability toinclude both static content and rich media. In order to create add unitswith more than basic flat display ads, one must purchase a stand aloneapplication (e.g. MACROMEDIA FLASH™, PHOTOSHOP ILLUSTRATOR™, IMAGEREADER™, MICROSOFT SILVERLIGHT™, etc.) that a developer runs on a localcomputer.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods for web-based generation of advertisement units, aredisclosed.

In one aspect, a system for creating a new advertisement unit isdisclosed. The system can include a web browser, an ad server, and anadvertisement creator server. The ad server is communicatively connectedto the web browser, the ad server can be configured to store and delivera plurality of advertisement units, and an advertisement creator servercommunicatively connected to the web browser and can be configured tohost an ad creator engine, the ad creator engine can be configured tofacilitate the creation of the new advertisement unit, wherein the webbrowser is configured to function as a graphical interface with theadvertisement creator engine.

In another aspect, a method of creating an advertisement unit by anadvertisement creation server can include defining the dimensions of theadvertisement unit, adding content objects to the advertisement unit,adding attributes to the content objects, adjusting the layout of thecontent with respect to the advertisement unit, previewing theadvertisement unit, and submitting the advertisement unit.

In another aspect, a method of creating multiple advertisement unitsthat communicate and interact with each other on a webpage can includedefining the dimensions of a first advertisement unit and a secondadvertisement unit, adding content objects to the first advertisementunit and the second advertisement unit, adding attributes to eachcontent objects, adjusting the layout of the content within the firstadvertisement unit and the second advertisement unit, defining therelationship between the first advertisement unit and the secondadvertisement unit, wherein the first advertisement unit and the secondadvertisement unit are configured to be communicatively interfaced withone another, defining the instructions which apply to the firstadvertisement unit and the second advertisement unit when bothadvertisement units share common attributes, previewing the firstadvertisement unit and the second advertisement unit, and submitting thefirst advertisement unit and the second advertisement unit.

These and other features, aspects, and embodiments are described belowin the section entitled “Detailed Description.”

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and embodiments are described in conjunction with theattached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1, is a block diagram illustrating a wide area network (WAN) forcreating and delivering Internet advertisement units that communicateand interact with each other on a webpage, in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 2, is a flow chart illustrating a method to generate anadvertisement unit, in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 3, is a screenshot illustrating a method to define the dimensionsof an advertisement unit that can be included in the diagram of FIG. 2,in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 4, is a screenshot illustrating a method to add an image that canbe included in the diagram of in FIG. 2, in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 5, is a screenshot illustrating a method to modify the layout of anobject that can be included in the diagram of in FIG. 2, in accordancewith one embodiment.

FIG. 6, is a screenshot illustrating a method to generate an errormessage for modifying the layout of an object outside the dimensions ofthe advertisement unit that can be included in the diagram of in FIG. 2,in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 7, is a screenshot illustrating a method to add text that can beincluded in the diagram of in FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 8, is a screenshot illustrating a method to add a flash object thatcan be included in the diagram of in FIG. 2, in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 9, is a screenshot illustrating a method to preview andadvertisement unit that can be included in the diagram of in FIG. 2, inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 10, is a screenshot illustrating a submission page that can beincluded in the diagram of in FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments herein are described and directed for systems and methodsfor web-based creation of advertising units. It will be obvious,however, that the embodiments may be practiced without some or all ofthese specific details. In other instances, well known processoperations have not been described in detail in order not tounnecessarily obscure the present invention.

As used herein, the Internet, the Web, or World Wide Web (WWW) uses ahypermedia (i.e., comprising of graphics, audio, video, plain text,hyperlinks, etc.) based system for enabling the browsing of Internetsites. As its name implies, the WWW (i.e., Internet) is comprised ofmany websites linked together allowing users to travel from one websiteto another simply by clicking on hyperlinks. To access the web, a user(i.e., client) typically runs a web browser program (e.g., FIREFOX™,NETSCAPE™, INTERNET EXPLORER™, SAFARI™, OPERA™, CAMINO™, etc.) thatassists the user in navigating from among the various websites on theWWW and renders the web pages associated with those websites for viewingby the user.

Webpages are typically written in HyperText Markup Language (HTML),Dynamic HyperText Markup Language (DHTML) or Extensible HyperText MarkupLanguage (XHTML). DHTML denotes a collection of technologies usedtogether to create interactive and animated web sites by using acombination of a static markup language (i.e., HTML), a client-sidescripting language (such as JAVASCRIPT™), a presentation definitionlanguage (i.e., CSS), and a Document Object Model. DHTML based webpagesuse client-side scripting to change the variables of the presentationdefinition language (i.e., HTML) to affect the look and function ofotherwise “static” HTML page content, after the page has been fullyloaded and during the rendering process.

Internet advertisements can take any form as along as it can be renderedonto a web browser or equivalent application. Examples include: staticgraphical banners, interactive polls, interactive games, multimediaclips, streaming video, etc. Rich-media denotes interactive multimediaweb content that includes audio, graphics, image, video and animation inaddition to traditional media (text and graphics).

In view of the foregoing, it should therefore be fully appreciated thata variety of Internet advertising content (e.g., animated ads,interactive polls, multi-media ads, etc.) can benefit from the systemsand methods described herein.

FIG. 1, is a block diagram illustrating a wide area network (WAN) forcreating and delivering Internet advertisement units that communicateand interact with each other on a webpage, in accordance with oneembodiment. Such a network can be used for delivering Internetadvertisement units that interact with each other on a webpage, and fordelivering web-based advertisement generating content in accordance withone embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the system can include a client 102(hosting a web browser) in communication by way of the Internet 103 witha web content server 104, an ad server 106 and an ad creator server 108that is communicatively connected to the ad server 106. It should beappreciated that the client 102 can be in communications with multipleservers of each server type (e.g., web content server 104, ad server106, etc.) and that single servers were used in this depiction for thesake of simplicity and is not intended to limit the scenario to singleservers of each server type.

During an Internet 103 web surfing session, the client 102 makes arequest for a web page from the web content server 104, which isconfigured to send the requested page back to the client 102 in the formof a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or equivalent file type (e.g.,Extensible Markup Language (XML), Extensible Hypertext Markup Language(XHTML), and Extensible Bindings Language (XBL)). Embedded within theweb page is a script that instructs the clients' 102 web browser to senda request for advertisement units to be sent from the ad server 106 tothe client 102. Examples of programming languages that can be used tocreate the script include, JAVASCRIPT™, VBSCRIPT™, and ACTIONSCRIPT™. Itshould be understood, however, that the script can be created using anyprogramming language as long as it can be processed by the client's 102web browser to initiate a request for an advertisement panel from the adserver 106.

Continuing with FIG. 1, once the script is delivered to the ad server106, the Internet ad unit is generated and then returned to the webbrowser. There it is rendered onto or as part of the webpage by the webbrowser. The Internet ad unit is configured to detect, register andinteract with other Internet ad units that have already been rendered onthe same webpage and share the same common attributes. In oneembodiment, the common attributes are that the Internet ad units sharethe same ad campaign objectives. That is, the ad units are gearedtowards the same marketing objectives. For example, the ad units may allbe geared towards getting Internet users to visit a website that isselling product “A.” Therefore, a first ad unit may have a banner adrelating to product “A,” a second ad unit may play streaming video aboutthe same product, while a third ad unit may present polls asking usersto rate features they would like product “A” to have.

In another embodiment, the common attributes are that the Internet adunits share the same client. For example, all the Internet ad units mayshare Company “A” as a common client. Alternatively, a first Internet adunit may relate to Subsidiary “A,” while a second Internet ad unit mayrelate to Subsidiary “B”, both subsidiaries “A” and “B” belonging toCompany “A.”

In still another embodiment, the common attributes are that the Internetad units relate to the same client type. For example, the ad units mayall relate to clients in the same industry (i.e., automotive industry),industry sub-segment (e.g., automotive parts, automotive repair, cardealerships, etc.), or other common trait (e.g., clients who cater toselected professionals, demographics, genders, etc.). In a differentembodiment, the common attributes are that the Internet ad units relateto certain custom features within the ad units. For example, these adunits can be setup in any arbitrary way for them to be connected withother ads. That is, the common attributes can be that the ads have acombination of the same clients, same advertising campaign or interactsimply because they happen to be served onto a same page. Essentiallyany detectable ad feature can be mixed and matched as common attributes.

It should be appreciated, however, that these are just examples of somecommon shared attributes between Internet ad units and that the sharedattributes can essentially be any characteristic as long as it can berecognized by programmable logic infused into the ad units. That is,essentially any arbitrary condition can be programmed into the main adunits and auxiliary ad units for them to flag and recognize each other.For example, the “master” unit can be configured to specifically seekout a particular “slave” unit with particular questions and have themaster unit completely change the look and feel of the slave unit.

In one embodiment, when multiple ad units are rendered on the samewebpage, they are each classified as either a “main” ad unit or an“auxiliary” ad unit. A main ad unit is configured to be programmed withspecific ad campaign goals and objectives so that it can generate andsend instructions to the auxiliary ad units to implement thoseobjectives. Additionally, the main ad unit is configured such that itcan generate and send instructions to the auxiliary ad units based onhow a user interacts it. That is, the main ad unit can determine whatactions by the auxiliary ad units are necessary based on the ad campaignobjectives entered by a system administrator and/or interactivity with auser; then, generate and communicate the appropriate instructions to theauxiliary ad units.

Still with FIG. 1, typically, there is only one main ad unit per eachclass of Internet ad units with the same shared attributes. For example,there may be several groups of ad units each having a different class ofshared attributes (e.g., shared client, shared marketing objectives,shared subject matter, etc.) that may be rendered on a webpage. But foreach of the groups of ad units, only one of the ad units can bedesignated a main ad unit, while the rest of the ad units in the groupare designated as auxiliary ad units.

The auxiliary ad units are configured to detect the presence of arendered main ad unit on a webpage, register itself with the main adunit and make itself available for communication and control by thesame. That is, the auxiliary ad units serve a subservient role to themain ad unit by taking instructions from the same.

In one embodiment, the instructions generated by the main ad unit areimbedded with messaging, images, rich media content and technicalfeatures that are designed to enhance the utility of the auxiliary adunits. Examples of the types of rich-media content that can be embeddedin the instructions include, but are not limited to, streaming video,questions, data forms, coupons, multiple universal resource locators(URLs), XML feeds, and other advanced features that can be implementedin HTML. It should be appreciated, however, that essentially anytechnical feature and/or content type can be imbedded into theinstructions and communicated to the auxiliary ad units as long as itcan be rendered on a webpage.

The auxiliary ad units do not have to be pre-scripted. Programming code,such as JAVASCRIPT™, VBSCRIPT™, and ACTIONSCRIPT™, can be used to injectnew code into the auxiliary ad units and completely replace theiroriginal functionality. For example, the questions on the auxiliary adunit can be changed, the auxiliary ad unit can be changed into someother type (e.g., banner, video feed, etc.) of ad unit, the auxiliary adcan be turned into an expandable unit, etc. It should be understood,that the auxiliary ad units may modified to take any form orfunctionality as long as the web browser hosting the ad can beconfigured to render the same.

In one embodiment, the auxiliary ad units are configured to sendmessages back to the main unit on user interaction to transform oradjust the main ad unit's behavior. That is, auxiliary ad units cancommunicate bi-directionally with all the other units (i.e., main andauxiliary ad units) that are rendered on the webpage. This adds anadditional layer of interactions and interdependencies between therendered ad units.

Currently, there are no web based ad creators that have the capabilityto include both static and rich media content. In order to create addunits with more than basic flat display ads, one must purchase a standalone application (e.g. MACROMEDIA FLASH™, PHOTOSHOP ILLUSTRATOR™, IMAGEREADER™, MICROSOFT SILVERLIGHT™, etc.) that the developer must runlocally on his/her computer. By providing the ad creator applicationonline, the developer can access the application from any computer orthin-client terminal with internet connectivity, thus adding theadvantage of portability. The user is also assured that he is working onthe most up to date version (and the most up to date and powerfulpublishing tools) of the ad creator applications. Moreover, theadvertisement units designed through the web based ad creator unit canwork (tie-in) and be integrated within the advertising system describedherein.

Additionally, with regard to FIG. 1, during an Internet 103 web surfingsession, the client 102 can access an ad creator engine that can beconfigured to allow the client 102 to create new ad units and modifyexisting ad units. That is, the client 102 can use a web browser tointerface with the ad creator engine to create new ad units that can belater stored in the ad server 106 or, alternatively, modify an existingad unit that is already stored in the ad server 106. Using the adcreator engine, the client 102 can customize the look and feel of the adunits, and define the functionalities and features that are embedded inthe ad units, etc. In one embodiment, the ad creator engine is hosted ina separate ad creator server 108 that is communicatively connected tothe client 102 and the ad server 106. As such, the ad creator engine canbe configured to send newly created ad units to the ad server 106 forstorage and delivery to the client 102 and obtain existing ad units fromthe ad server 106 to modify and improve. In another embodiment, the adcreator engine can be hosted by the ad server 106. In still anotherembodiment, the ad creator engine can be hosted on a general webapplication server that is not configured to provide dedicated ad unitcreation or delivery services, but can nonetheless be accessed by theclient 102. It should be understood that arrangements may includemultiple servers of each server type (e.g., web content server 104, adserver 106, etc.) and that single servers were used in this depictionfor the sake of simplicity and is not intended to limit the scenario tosingle server or single arrangement of servers.

FIG. 2, is a flow chart illustrating a method to generate anadvertisement unit, in accordance with one embodiment. A user firstbegins by using a web browser interface to access an ad creator engine.According to one aspect, a user could be required to authenticate theirpresence, for instance via a login and user name to gain access to thead creator engine. Once a user begins creating an advertisement unit,according to one embodiment, the user can define attributes in step 202of the advertisement unit. Advertisement unit attributes can include,but are not limited to the dimensions of the advertisement unit andcontact information associated with the advertisement unit. If a loginor user identification method is employed it should be understood thatdata associated with the advertisement unit may be pulled frompre-existing data sources. After defining the characteristics of theadvertisement unit in step 202, the user can add an object or element tothe advertisement unit in step 204. An object can be an image, agraphic, text, a flash object, a movie file, a sound file, RSS feed, oranother element capable of being embedded in an advertisement unit. Theproperties or attributes of the object can be entered by the user at thetime the object is added to the advertisement unit in step 204. Itshould be appreciated, however, that these are but just some examples ofobjects that can be embedded into an ad unit. In practice, the adcreator engine can be configured to allow a client to add any type ofmulti-media content that can be rendered on the client's web browser.

After adding an object in step 204, a user can add more objects to theadvertisement unit in step 204, the user can modify the attributes ofthe objects already added in step 206, or the user can manipulate thelayout of the added objects in step 208. In step 210 the user canpreview the entire advertisement unit. The user can add any number ofobjects, and may arrange the layout in various methods until the desiredlook and feel of the advertisement unit has been achieved.

The object can be positioned within the advertisement unit in step 210.Additional embodiments can include enhancements for adjusting objectssuch as more advanced image manipulation (e.g. the ability to crop,reduce in size, delete, relocate, and define a depth layer) for theobject being modified. Additionally, according to another embodiment, instep 210 a warning can be triggered and displayed to the user if theuser attempts to move an object outside of the dimensions defined forthe advertisement unit.

In step 212 the user can preview the ad unit, and can then either returnto further modify the advertisement unit or proceed to step 214 andsubmit the advertisement unit and generate the ad unit including anyassociated source code.

FIG. 3, is a screenshot illustrating a method to define the dimensionsof an advertisement unit that can be included in the diagram of FIG. 2,in accordance with one embodiment. In one embodiment for creating anadvertisement unit, attributes can include, but are not limited to thebanner information 304 (e.g. the dimensions and name of theadvertisement unit) and any contact information associated with theadvertisement unit 302 (e.g. name, email, phone number). Additionally,optional security measures can be used to identify the user an restrictaccess. If a login or user identification method is employed it shouldbe understood that data associated with the advertisement unit may bepulled from pre-existing data sources.

FIG. 4, is a screenshot illustrating a method to add an image that canbe included in the diagram of in FIG. 2, in accordance with oneembodiment. An area on the ad creator engine webpage, as rendered in theweb browser, can be designated to display a preview and editing panel406. Additionally, the ad creator engine webpage can display options inthe add creative layer 408 which can allow a user to add additionalcontent objects. These objects can be, but are not limited to, text,images, streaming video, XML feeds, Flash objects, or widgets. Widgetsare self-contained modules that offer content, services, entertainment,or interactive features like weather look-up, e-mail submission, bots,polls, games, content feeds, etc., and can be incorporated into bannercreations like the other objects.

If an object has already been added the edit creative layer area 410will permit the user to modify that object. For instance, the user couldselect an object to edit, move, delete, or change the depth of theobject relative to other object placed in the ad unit. Additionally,upon choosing to add a new content object 408 or modify existing content410, the properties associated with that content object can be displayedand modified by the user. Images can be uploaded from a local computerfile or can be tied into a library of approved assets hosted by a thirdparty, to the canvas/preview area 406.

Furthermore, all elements added to the canvas should be named foridentification purposes 402. However it should be understood that indifferent embodiments different methods can be employed to generate anobject name (e.g. the name can be dynamically created by theadvertisement engine, the name can be entered by the user, the namecould be derived from a file name associated with the object). Theproperties of the object may differ based on the system requirements andthe specific object being added or modified. For example, if a new imagewas to be added the image name 402 would be displayed along with anoption to select the image to be uploaded, and a field to specify a link404 which can be associated with an image. This can be used to direct aweb browser running the associated advertisement unit. For instance itcould be used to create a pop-up window to display the target web linkupon a user clicking on the image in the advertisement unit. Otherproperties and actions can be associated with object, and are notlimited to the embodiments described herein.

FIG. 5, is a screenshot illustrating a method to modify the layout of anobject that can be included in the diagram of in FIG. 2, in accordancewith one embodiment. A display area with an image to be moved 502 isdisplayed in the preview area 406 of this browser window. An addcreative layer 408 and an edit creative layer 410, as describe withrespect to FIG. 4, can also be viewed and utilized as described.

Simple animation of moving images from point A to point B may beincluded and assigned to this object. Additionally, objects can bestacked on top of each other and used can be used like a slideshow.Slideshows can be shown using a slow fade-in or fade out. The can alsobe setup to quickly or slowly flip through the images to allowframe-by-frame animation as well. Outside the unit movement may also betied to their objects, such as “Expanding” or “floating” units.

Additionally, a user can select which content objects to display 504 andthereby modify. The images can appear in the canvas or display area 502.It should be understood that once a content object has been added to thecanvas it can be dragged around and manipulated with a mouse or keyboardto adjust the location of the object within the advertisement unit. Inother embodiments (not shown) the selected content object can bemodified in other ways (e.g. cropping, resizing, adjusting the depth,etc.).

FIG. 6, is a screenshot illustrating a method to generate an errormessage for modifying the layout of an object outside the dimensions ofthe advertisement unit that can be included in the diagram of in FIG. 2,in accordance with one embodiment. This screen is an example of what canhappen when elements are dragged out of the viewable area of anadvertisement unit, such as a DHTML banner). In this case the objectbeing dragged 602 can trigger an error message 604, after leaving thepredefined dimensions of the advertisement unit. Additionally, the errordetection element can automatically bring the element back into theviewable canvas. An add creative layer 408 and an edit creative layer410, as describe with respect to FIG. 4, can also be viewed and utilizedas described.

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, are screenshots illustrating an example feature toadd objects that can be included in the diagram of in FIG. 2, inaccordance with one embodiment. Similar to FIG. 4, which was an exampleof adding an image object, FIG. 7 is an example of adding a text object,and FIG. 8 is an example of adding a flash object. Other object can beincluded in various embodiments, however these two are included forexemplary purposes.

The properties panel can be opened as described in FIG. 4, and theattributes associated with the object can be displayed in propertiestext property area 704 or the flash property area 804.

These attributes associated with and displayed in the property areas arerelative to the object type selected. For instance the properties can bethe name of the text object, the text to be displayed, the font color,the font style (e.g. bold, italics, etc), the font size, the font color,the dimensions of the text box, the font face (e.g. Arial, etc.).Additionally, the properties associated with a flash object can be thename of the flash object, the location of the flash object, which can beused to upload the flash file to the advertisement server, thedimensions of the flash object, and a link to field which can allow theadvertisement unit to trigger a redirection of a browser window or apop-up window to navigate to the URL address specified.

The properties area of various objects can also include such informationas JavaScript commands or references to other related advertisementunits which can help define and control the interaction between separatebut related advertisement units as describe above. It should beunderstood that many different attributes can be associated to variouscontent objects and are not limited to those described herein.Furthermore, it should be noted that traditionally, most rich mediabanners are made using flash. However, the embodiments describe hereinare not limited to flash and may be based on e.g. DHTML, which allowsthe use and combination of the available and latest Internettechnologies to be incorporated in the ad unit. By using source codesuch as DHTML to create the advertisement unit, any technology which canbe implemented via HTML, can be integrated into the advertisement unit.Such technology can include MACROMEDIA FLASH™, JAVA, WINDOWS MEDIA™(e.g. movies, sound files), QUICKTIME™, but are not limited thereto.Thus, the advertisement creator engine may integrate multiple objecttypes and is not tied to any one in particular.

FIG. 9, is a screenshot illustrating a method to preview andadvertisement unit that can be included in the diagram of in FIG. 2, inaccordance with one embodiment. A preview pane allows the user to viewhis or her completed advertisement unit before submitting the finalproduct. At this point the user can select the action they wish to take902, e.g. to submit the advertisement or to return to editing theadvertisement unit. Multiple embodiments and screen layouts are possiblean FIG. 9 is merely one simplified layout for exemplary purposes.

FIG. 10, is a screenshot illustrating a submission page that can beincluded in the diagram of in FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment.Once an advertisement unit has been submitted, the advertisement enginecan generate the source code (e.g. DHTML) and related files for theadvertisement unit. The advertisement unit is the stored on a server.This server may be an advertisement server unit is created including.Because the advertisement unit is fully functional upon submission, theadvertisement creator engine can be a truly self-service applicationwhich does not require any further production time. Additionallyhowever, a third party system (e.g. individuals, or other automatedprograms) can verify the advertisement unit to make sure the bannermeets all of the necessary specifications and requirements for itsfuture use.

While certain embodiments have been described above, it will beunderstood that the embodiments described are by way of example only.Accordingly, the systems, methods, and apparatuses described hereinshould not be limited based on the described embodiments. Rather, thesystems and methods described herein should only be limited in light ofthe claims that follow when taken in conjunction with the abovedescription and accompanying drawings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for creating a new advertisement unit,comprising: a web browser; an ad server communicatively connected to theweb browser, the ad server configured to store a plurality ofadvertisement units; and an advertisement creator server communicativelyconnected to the web browser and the ad server, the advertisementcreator server configured to host an ad creator engine, the ad creatorengine configured to facilitate the creation of the new advertisementunit, wherein the web browser is configured to function as a graphicalinterface with the advertisement creator engine.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the newly created advertisement unit is sent to the ad serverfor storage.
 3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a websitecontent server communicatively connected to the web browser, the websitecontent server configured to receive a webpage request from the webbrowser and send the webpage to the web browser in response to thewebpage request, wherein the webpage includes an advertisement unitrequest script configured to direct the web browser to generate arequest for the advertisement unit, and wherein the ad server isconfigured to receive advertisement unit requests and selectively sendan advertisement unit to the web browser based on previous interactionsbetween the web browser and the advertisement server, wherein, theadvertisement unit is configured to be render onto the web page.
 4. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein the ad server is further configured to send asecond advertisement unit, wherein, the second advertisement unit isconfigured to render onto the web page, and the first advertisement unitis configured to be communicatively interfaced with the secondadvertisement unit and configured to detect the second advertisementunit and send instructions to the second advertisement unit if thesecond advertisement unit shares common attributes with the firstadvertisement unit, and the second advertisement unit is configured toreceive and execute instructions received from the first advertisementunit.
 5. The system of claim 2, wherein the advertisement unit isconfigured to be created in response to commands from a user.
 6. Asystem of claim 5, wherein the commands from the user comprise: defininga size of the advertisement unit; adding a content object for theadvertisement unit; setting an attribute of the content object;arranging the location of the content object relative to theadvertisement unit, previewing the advertisement unit; and submittingthe advertisement unit.
 7. A system of claim 6, wherein an error messageis configured to be displayed if the location of the object is arrangedoutside the dimensions of the advertisement unit.
 8. A system of claim6, wherein the content object is a rich media object.
 9. A system ofclaim 6, wherein the content object is one of: a text object; an imageobject; and a flash object.
 10. A system of claim 6, wherein theattribute of the content object include at least one of: a name of theobject; a link configured to direct a browser displaying theadvertisement unit; and dimensions of the object.
 11. A method ofcreating an advertisement unit by an advertisement creation servercomprising: defining the dimensions of the advertisement unit; addingcontent objects to the advertisement unit; adding attributes to thecontent objects; adjusting the layout of the content with respect to theadvertisement unit; previewing the advertisement unit; and submittingthe advertisement unit.
 12. A method of claim 11, wherein the contentobject is a rich media object.
 13. A method of claim 11, wherein thecontent objects of the advertisement unit includes at least one of: atext object; an image object; and a flash object.
 14. A method of claim11, wherein the content attributes include at least one of: a name ofthe content object; a link configured to direct the browser displayingthe ad unit; dimensions of the object;
 15. A method of claim 11, whereinthe advertisement creation unit is further configured to generate anerror message in response to adjusting the layout of the content outsidethe dimensions of the advertisement unit:
 16. A method of claim 11,wherein the content attributes are further modifiable after they arecreated.
 17. A method of claim 11, wherein the location of the contentobject is adjustable through a layout screen.
 18. A method of claim 11,wherein the advertisement server is configured to generate source codefor the advertisement unit upon submission of the advertisement unit.19. A method of claim 18, wherein the method of creating anadvertisement unit by an advertisement creation server further includesflagging the advertisement unit and source code for review by thirdparty.
 20. A method of creating multiple advertisement units thatcommunicate and interact with each other on a webpage comprising:defining the dimensions of a first advertisement unit and a secondadvertisement unit; adding content objects to the first advertisementunit and the second advertisement unit; adding attributes to eachcontent objects; adjusting the layout of the content within the firstadvertisement unit and the second advertisement unit; defining therelationship between the first advertisement unit and the secondadvertisement unit, wherein the first advertisement unit and the secondadvertisement unit are configured to be communicatively interfaced withone another; defining the instructions which apply to the firstadvertisement unit and the second advertisement unit when bothadvertisement units share common attributes; previewing the firstadvertisement unit and the second advertisement unit; and submitting thefirst advertisement unit and the second advertisement unit.
 21. A systemof claim 20, wherein the content object is a rich media object.
 22. Amethod of claim 20, wherein the content objects include at least one of:a text object; an image object; and a flash object.
 23. A method ofclaim 20, wherein the content attributes include at least one of: a nameof the content; a link configured to direct the browser displaying thead unit; dimensions of the object;